REVIEW: YPRES Nieuwpoort to Ploegsteert – by Mark Barnes

YPRES
Nieuwpoort to Ploegsteert
By Jon Cooksey and Jerry Murland
Battle Lines
The Western Front By Car, By Bike And On Foot
Published by Pen & Sword Military
ISBN: 978 1 84884 793 4

Review by Mark Barnes for War History Online

This one is easy. This is an extremely usable guide book that encourages you to get out on the battlefields and it gets my vote. I recognise a fair few locations from my own adventures but I found a good deal to learn from experienced hands. This is the first in a new series which runs alongside the extensive Battleground Europe range we’ve come to know well. With an upsurge of interest expected next year it makes sound sense to produce books in this format which will fit in your glove box or backpack while you explore the landmarks of the Great War.

This book gives us a history of the conflict within the area it covers along with stories of the people involved. Some will be better known than others. It is broken up into tour routes suitable for specific modes of transport allied to general information about the battlefields. I’d say the book is principally aimed at newer visitors, but, as said – we can’t know everything and I’m far from being a genius on these things, so I found lots to take in and this book will find a ready place in my library. Available for under thirteen quid it ticks all the right boxes and I look forward to seeing more as the series expands.

Mark Barnes

Mark Barnes is a longstanding friend of WHO, providing features, photography and reviews. He has contributed to The Times of London and other publications. He is the author of The Liberation of Europe (pub 2016) and If War Should Come due later in 2020.

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